Rift And Vive Nearly Neck-And-Neck In Latest Steam Hardware Survey

The first Steam hardware survey of 2018 is in and it shows Oculus Rift and HTC Vive usage at practically a tie.

This month sees HTC Vive as 46.96% (a 0.3% decrease from last month’s 47.26%) of the overall usage, while Rift is at 46.09% (a 0.05% decrease from 46.14% in December). Steam designates HTC Vive at this month’s most-used headset after the Rift took the top spot for the first time in December. That said, this chart shows that Rift and Vive usage on Steam is almost neck-and-neck right now.

Explaining the slight drops on both the Rift and Vive’s side, Microsoft’s Windows ‘Mixed Reality’ headsets grew from 4.35% to 5.17%. As always, this is an optional survey and headsets have to be plugged into Steam when it takes place to count, so it’s not a definitive way of telling whether the Rift or Vive has sold more.

Now that we’re a month into 2018 we have a bit of a better idea of what the VR landscape looks like for the year. Most notably, HTC is set to release its upgraded Vive, the Vive Pro, as a single headset within the next two months and then as a full package with new trackers later in the year. Will the upgraded specs help Vive get ahead in the survey?

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Good to see the Microsoft headsets numbers improving, hopefully this will continue & there’ll be less incentive for headset exclusive games.

Bundy

That day can’t come soon enough. This fragmentation is terrible.

johngrimoldy

I’d love to see good middleware similar to Java where one piece of code works on everything.

PoTemos Comunismo

Oculus can´t win Vive costing 250-300 $.

joemitz

Sorry did I misread. Did you mean Oculus already won?

johngrimoldy

I’m glad to see both doing well. Everybody wins if they stay neck & neck. I wouldn’t expect the Vive upgrade to have much effect when first released. If initially sold as an upgrade to existing owners, that’s not going to change the percentage of Vive owners. Only when sold as a complete kit.

mirak

It doesn’t mean they are doing well especially when they equip 0.5% of all computers that run Steam.
That’s low unfortunately.

joemitz

Not neck and neck. This does not count Rift users who prefer Oculus Home.

PoTemos Comunismo

Oculus is shit company with shit politics…

CRASH_Override

u mad

joemitz

Stop spamming this everywhere. Saying it over and over doesn’t make it true

Kenny Thompson

May the best hardware win.

joemitz

Rift wins

PoTemos Comunismo

Hahahahahahaha. With that shitty tracking for poor people.

joemitz

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA my roomscale tracking is almost flawless and I didn’t throw hundreds of dollars in the garbage. Do you actually know anything about these HMDs? Rift is more comfortable, has better controllers, and most importantly has BETTER GAMES

mirak

The Rift can’t even gain more usage by beeing 66% the price of the Vive.
That’s really a huge blow for Oculus reputation.

care package

There is no reason to buy a Vive over the Rift even if they were the same price. Hell I’d buy a MS headset before the Vive if they were the same price.

mirak

Dumb for you

joemitz

I don’t think it’s dumb to throw money in the garbage for an overpriced product, do you?

PoTemos Comunismo

Rift is a shit company with shit politics… for me is a good reason NOT to buy it.

care package

Oh ya, there are a few on the Oculus hate bandwagon still lol. You couldn’t tell me why without having double standards. Bandwagons are for people who can’t think for themselves. Sounds like your shit politics are getting in the way.

Chris Sharp

Vive is the only good option for “walk around” VR games. Rift claims to handle it, but it’s kind of like saying that an SUV can be used for racing. NOT REALLY.

care package

Sounds like the only one making claims is you. Rift users can and are playing all the same games Vive users are. As far as “walk around”, it’s not main steam for VR and never will be as long as there is a tether and people lacking the play space (until AR), which is also why games that require large play space are few and far between.

Chris Sharp

You poor soul. Look into a game called Arizona Sunshine. If the Rift can play it.

joemitz

Rift users have been playing Arizona Sunshine since it was released bro

care package

you daft or something? Arizona Sunshine is in the Oculus Store, and many Rift users are playing it. Over 1100 rating with a 4+ star.

mirak

I see countless issues with the rift in the Rift threads, like the need to buy usb pci cards, usb3 prolongators.
The Vive just works, have a expendable and clever tracking technology, if it’s not really used to the full potential yet, there is perspective.
If people pay more for the Vive it’s for reasons you just don’t understand or don’t want to see, not for reasons that don’t exists.

care package

Those don’t sound like issues. I know what the Vive has to offer, but thanks for the valuable insight.

joemitz

This does not include Rift users who only use Oculus Home. The usage % overall is probably much higher than Vive. Get rekt.

mirak

I really doubt that because I think it’s for the most part people who already played video games that went for the be headsets.

joemitz

I have Steam, but I rarely open it. I spend most of my time playing VR games, and most of those I own through Oculus Home. As such, I never would have got the survey because Steam is almost never open. I’m sure the same is true for many other Rift users.